Events

Review: BARRICADEZ ReVisited

James Refelian

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Nov 11, 2021

BARRICADEZ ReVisited is a Switch port of a PC game that honestly should have been so much better. Let’s talk about why. BARRICADEZ ReVisited by FlyPenguin Inc. is a scrolling-based mix of tower defence and survival. You play as an invincible robot tasked with protecting a baby in a cradle; this baby happens to be the last hope of humanity. Set against a wasteland dystopian backdrop where every night monsters come with one aim – kill the child.

BARRICADEZ ReVisited - Survivng the monsters

Gameplay Modes

BARRICADEZ ReVisited has four modes. Story Mode, Challenges, Practice and Red Moon Rush. It is advisable you check out the Practice Mode before trying anything else. This is the only place you learn the controls and how to play the game. It is unfortunately the controls that lower the score of an otherwise wonderful little game. I honestly recommend the PC version over the Switch port. This is because the controls are designed with a mouse in mind (and occasionally even references pressing the escape key). This makes for very cumbersome gameplay when trying to move a ‘mouse cursor’ with a joystick. The touchscreen is also totally unused. You do eventually get to grips with it and its limitations, but it certainly reduces the enjoyability factor of gameplay. The Practice Mode is well thought out. It starts basic by introducing you to movement and progresses through the more advanced features such as crafting and upgrading.

Challenges, once unlocked, offer a fun ‘quick game’ mode alternative to the main story. There are six in total. Ranging from only defending the baby using certain traps to surviving for days against vast numbers of monsters. These challenges are fun, but also serve as a useful learning curve for the main game.

BARRICADEZ ReVisited - Building defences

The Story Mode is a slight misnomer. There is no real story to speak of save for the background to the game. As a protector robot you must protect the last hope of humanity from hordes of monsters that attack each night. The story is a nice setting for an intriguing mix of tower defence and survival. You have it all available in this mode. You’re challenged to last 56 nights by going underground to gather resources and craft items which can eventually be upgraded. With these resources you can build a wide variety of structures, traps, and weapons to defend the baby each night. During the day you can repair these items, collect and reposition them and of course build more. It’s a lot of fun, working out patterns for the crawler monster types to never get anywhere; placing the best traps and devices to kill the ones that will cause damage as you wait until morning. There’s a good variety of traps from basic spikes through to platforms that will catapult monsters into carefully placed firepits, swinging axes, flamethrowers, and arrow shooters. Similarly, there’s a nice variety of monster types so that each night never feels the same.

Finally, Red Moon Rush is then the game’s equivalent of ‘hard mode’. In the main Story Mode, you get what I consider a ‘boss’ coming every seven nights. As each week progresses, these get harder and harder. In Red Moon Rush you only get the ‘boss levels’. I’d leave this mode alone until you’re comfortable with the crafting and building system.

UI

I mentioned earlier that my main gripe with this game is the controls on Switch and unfortunately this is most prevalent in building and crafting. The UI is clearly designed for a PC and there’s a lot of ‘clicking’ involved to cycle through tabs. It’s cumbersome at best and at worst it’s repeatedly pressing the wrong control or moving the joystick and ending up in a totally different menu system. This is a real shame because when you can get it to work it is actually a great feature. As you expand your arsenal you can build and engineer new things, combining items and ensuring your weapons remain stocked. It is fully fleshed out as well, there are no half-measures here.

BARRICADEZ ReVisited - Gathering Resources

Crafting in BARRICADEZ ReVisited

The gathering and crafting side of BARRICADEZ ReVisited often feels like the primary focus, without it you cannot build anything to protect the baby from the monsters. For me, it was the more cathartic part of the game. Set against a wonderful score the plucky little robot heads down into the caves to gather materials. All the usual suspects appear; wood, stone, sand, iron, copper, and many, many more. As well as these you can find chests that contain pre-made defences and traps. There are special blocks, presumably derelict buildings from the now wasteland Earth, which contain a random selection of an even wider range of resources. It was difficult to work out some of the crafting recipes as there is no clear guide. It became frustrating when I had an overwhelming amount of one resource and absolutely none of the other I needed to build a trap. This is more of a me problem but on numerous playthroughs this was the case. I wonder if either a) the algorithm behind resource drops needs tweaking for such low-level items or b) it isn’t as low-level as the items list makes it out to be in which case that needs altering to make it clearer.

BARRICADEZ ReVisited Review Conclusion

Overall, BARRICADEZ ReVisited is a fun tower defence game with a truly fantastic survival/crafting element built in. The graphics are just fine, and the music is a joy. The variety of gameplay is great, the variety of monsters is even better. Time control helps you manage your building and every seven days you get a more challenging boss to overcome. Similarly, as you progress things get harder overall keeping the game fresh and challenging. However, don’t play this game on Nintendo Switch. The controls are terrible for a console that has a touchscreen and joysticks and it ruins what is otherwise a solid game of this genre.

Review: Source of Madness

Conor Spring

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Nov 11, 2021

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Source of Madness is a strange and intriguing game. Would you like to walk through a world of eldritch horrors, odd creatures and ominous areas. What’s more, all of this, the textures, enemy behaviors, is all controlled by neural network AI. It’s certainly a unique concept for it’s genre, but is it something worth playing? Let’s find out.

Note that this is an early access review, and as such may not be representative of the final product.

Gameplay

The game is a roguelite, so the basic gameplay loop is as follows. You spawn by choosing one of three characters, then you purchase upgrades using blood you’ve acquired in past runs. These can be new classes, upgrades to existing classes, health flasks etc. Next you leave the main hub and progress out into the world. It’s a side scroller, so you head out and fight enemies and battle your way into the next zone, fighting a boss at the end of the zone.

The game has been compared to dark souls and diablo, and it’s not hard to see why. The creepy atmosphere of a grim dark fantasy world. The tough and strange enemies. Even the text when you enter a new zone matches dark souls. You have two ring slots, which give you your spells, on left and right click. Being in early access the content is not fully fleshed out yet, with only the first act fully completed. Combat can feel a little too floaty and odd at times. Escaping combat and moving around the map can feel a little janky at times.

Presentation

This is the strongest area for Source of Madness. From the music, the creepy monsters and the strange levels, this game is oozing with thematic horror. It really makes the game shine. Plus, its textures are apparently AI controlled, however that works, which is definitely an interesting feature. I did find my eyes getting strained after around an hour or so of play. I think it’s because of the way everything blends together. Otherwise, the presentation is spot on.

Design

Firstly, the sound design is perfect. Hearing the distant screech of monsters, among other ominous sounds, really adds to the theme. The feel and look of your spells as you cast them is satisfying. The procedurally generated areas remain varied and interesting enough to encourage further playthroughs. The UI is intuitive and works well. All of this provides a great experience, though it is not without its faults.

Your spells awkwardly collide with your enemies in a way which doesn’t feel impactful. At times it is hard to tell what is an enemy, and what is a corpse or just an obstacle in your way. It’s hard to tell if your getting hit sometimes. I would swear I took a hit then check my life bar and see that I didn’t, and vice versa. Finally, while the game is visually varied, the difference between spells doesn’t seem fully fleshed out yet.

Overall, Source of Madness is promising title, held back by a few design choices. It’s perfect for those looking for a good hit of Lovecraftian horror. It’s certainty a title to keep an eye on as it’s development cycle continues. A promising early access title.

Two Minute Review : Twelve South Forte for iPhone with MagSafe

Andrew Edney

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Nov 11, 2021

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Two Minute Review : Twelve South Forte for iPhone with MagSafe

Here is our Two Minute Review of the Twelve South Forte for iPhone with MagSafe.

Forté for iPhone is a modern wireless charging stand made exclusively for iPhone 12 and the Apple MagSafe Charger. Snap your MagSafe Charger into Forté and you instantly have a clever way to dock your iPhone 12 while it wirelessly charges at a speedy 15 Watts. It magnetically holds your phone vertically or horizontally for hands-free use. As a bonus, the platform tilts up to 70-degrees to create the perfect viewing angle or charging pedestal for your AirPods. When it’s time to travel, your MagSafe charger easily pops out to go.

What’s in the Box?

The box contains the stand and arm, a screw and a hex key.

A Closer Look

Final Thoughts

The Forte feels reassuringly heavy in your hand – not that it will be in your hand, it will be on your desk or other flat surface!

Putting the Forte together was very simple – slot the arm into the base plate, use the supplied screw and hex key to secure it in place, then attach your existing Apple MagSafe Charger and that’s it! You can now place your iPhone securely on the stand and use it for whatever purpose you need – and it works either vertically or horizontally.

This is a really great addition to your desk, you’ll probably wonder how you got by without one!

The Twelve South Forte for iPhone with MagSafe is available now priced around £39.99.

You can learn more from the Twelve South website.

Review: Epic Chef

Daniel Waite

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Nov 11, 2021

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Cooking is a pastime that consumes many people. However, no matter how much you love it, you always have the freedom to walk away. Would you adore this culinary hobby if it demanded your full attention? Epic Chef tells the tale of one kingdom’s obsession with food, and the adventures that go with it.

Developed by Infinigon and published by Team17, this is a food-obsessed and relaxing RPG adventure. At first glance, this colourful cartoon title could easily be mistaken for many others. Yet, once you strip back the layers, you’ll enjoy a bizarre magic fuelled journey that has a razor-sharp wit. It’s one of those games that’ll surprise you with its depth of character and whimsical ways.

Epic Chef is hilarious and charming.

Team17 rarely let me down, so I knew this would be serviceable. But what I could never guess was how much I’d love it. My sides were hurting from the witty dialogue and inappropriate comments that are made throughout. You can’t help but smile at the stupidity of the jokes and this ensures the main quests are always lighthearted. Its core concept is charming and you’ll never tire of experimenting with food or harvesting your own goods.

The gameplay focuses on a central story with a strong quest line, side missions, farming, and exploration. There are some RPG elements as well as customised clothing and the challenge of becoming the number one chef.

The would-be Epic Chef is a dutiful but immature lad called Zest. He has spent his life savings on a haunted and dilapidated mansion that scares the residents of Ambrosia. With no way out, Zest makes the most of the bizarre opportunity while planning how to become the best chef around.

Its simple and relaxing approach will have you hooked.

I was so grateful that Epic Chef is packed with content and quests, but is simple to play. At first glance, you’ll raise an eyebrow as you attempt to fathom out the vocabulary. However, this quickly fades as you realise how straightforward it is. Subsequently, you won’t want to put it down! I adored bundling ingredients together while trying to create a phenomenal dish. The challenge of combining the right items and timing the bake to perfection was an excellent experience.

No matter what you try to do in Epic Chef, it all revolves around the food mechanics. You will gather plants, grow crops, and buy ingredients for any dish. Every item belongs to a category, such as land, sea, fruit, and so forth. Mixing different groups enhances or detracts from the final product, and you must be wise to get the best out of every meal. If you time the bake just right and blend the correct items, you’ll combine both aroma and synergy that leads to an irresistible dish.

Cooking competitions and helping the locals.

Understanding the cooking mechanic is key, as progress is dependent on you winning multiple cooking competitions. The fun and often silly events will test your ability while offering fantastic rewards. You can slum it in the underground cook-offs, or make it official and work through the culinary leagues. Unsurprisingly, the further you go, the harder it gets! You’ll need to use sauces, rare ingredients, and level up your character. Moreover, this was a wonderful way to add depth as you discovered the unique ways to blend each ingredient.

You won’t tire of cooking for people, but if you want a break, you can help the locals. Most of the tasks incorporate food or magic and these bizarre quests were easy to complete and fun to take part in. The longer you play, the larger the world becomes, and once out of reach zones, open up and you get to explore some strange areas. Furthermore, your rundown mansion is lacking the necessary equipment to become an Epic Chef. Therefore, you must unlock blueprints, gather resources, and build the machines and structures to be a success.

Epic Chef transports you to its crazy world.

It’s hard not to lose yourself in the absurdly colourful Epic Chef world. The combination of cartoon graphics and vivid colours reminded me of Summer in Mara. The fantasy theme has been brilliantly incorporated into the “normal” paradise setting with thorny bushes, magical hovels, and creepy creatures. I loved exploring new areas as they were unlocked and the variety in landscapes kept things interesting throughout.

The whimsical nature of the action is captured in both the written dialogue and the audio. This belly laughter-inducing element was the highlight of this title, and I could listen to the music and read the immature lines repeatedly. It was brilliantly lighthearted, undoubtedly childish, but it cements every other layer together perfectly.

A time sink.

Like most games in this genre, Epic Chef is a time sink! One hour turns into two, three, and before you know it, you should be in bed. It’s gloriously effortless and keeps you playing without trying. Whether you’re attempting to collect more outfits or unlocking the large list of achievements, you won’t put it down.

The story and mechanics are wonderful, but they are supported brilliantly by the excellent controller setup. With a choice of keyboard and mouse or gamepad, the developers have taken a well thought out and inclusive approach. I used the latter option and found the controls to be both responsive and easy to understand.

Epic Chef is a must-have title.

I knew little about Epic Chef before I started, but I’m glad I played it. It’s a game that captivated me from the off and my love for it grew exponentially. It’s a fantastic relaxing RPG adventure that puts its peers to shame! With so much going on, you won’t tire of its amusing and lighthearted ways. Unsurprisingly, I adored it and I recommend you to play it here! The culinary business is a tricky place to master! Can you gather the right ingredients, create the perfect dish, and become the Epic Chef?

Review: Aquarium Designer

Jordan Kirkpatrick

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Nov 11, 2021

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Have you ever been in a pet shop and thought to yourself, hey, those fish look super cool and easy to keep…only then when you look into aquariums and fish keeping you discover just how much work is required? Yeah, me too. Fear not though, the developers over at Sigur Studio have come to the rescue with their delightful sandbox Aquarium Designer to satiate all of your fish-keeping desires.

Aquarium Designer by all means isn’t your typical sandbox simulator game, and it shouldn’t be treated as such. If you go in expecting hyperrealism and, you will find yourself disappointed, irrespective of the fun facts you find on the fish descriptions.

I wouldn’t call myself an expert in any case regarding fish, but growing up my dad kept an array of exotic parrotfish and angelfish, so I was excited to see just what Aquarium Designer had to offer in the way of exotic breeds and realism.

It didn’t disappoint.

You can choose between two game modes; a campaign and a creative mode. Both modes are fun and offer their own unique gameplay, but they are still currently lacking in some areas.

The campaign will see you taking emails from customers as well as your in-game uncle, picking out the right vegetation, heaters, filters, substrates and of course fish to complete the customer’s desired aquarium.

Uncle Joe wanted a simple tank to kick things off

It really is just a lot of slow-paced relaxed clicking and dragging, but it is rewarding nonetheless.

Each campaign contract is “graded” out of 1000 points, which then helps you to level up. With every level unlocked, new fish species, plants, rocks and other fun accessories for your tanks become available. The closer to the contract you complete your aquarium, the more points you’ll earn and the faster you’ll level up.

Seems like Uncle Joe was pleased with his tank

You can even return to your completed contract tanks later down the line to tweak your designs to fully max out your points.

It took around 2 hours of playtime to casually complete the campaign mode as well as reach level 10 and pick up any achievements along the way. The quirky emails from your uncle and the fun facts that come through along with your commissions are a fun little addition that definitely kept up my enthusiasm.

Moving onto the creative mode, this is where things get interesting. You can choose between a casual sandbox mode or a realistic mode here.

The casual is exactly as it is described—you are given free rein over a tank of your choosing, you don’t need to worry about water pH, temperature regulation nor do you need to keep an eye on your fish at all times. Here, you are the design master, and you can swap between any of your own tanks to tweak at any time.

The realistic mode has all of the benefits of casual, only with the added difficulty factor of pH balancing, temperature and water checks as well as monitoring your fish and plants to keep them alive—all of this happens when the game isn’t active too, to make the challenge a little harder like in real life.

These modes are arguably Aquarium Designer’s magnum opus. With complete creative freedom, you’re given a blank slate to build your dream tank without the pressure of your uncle’s emails or worrying about whether your design is up to the customer’s standard.

Add in the relaxing lo-fi background music and the easy to navigate menus and we’re onto a winner.

Aquarium Designer is without a doubt a relaxing game to sit down for a few hours and let your creativity out, but it isn’t without its small flaws and opportunities.

As you inevitably unlock more fish species, you’ll begin to notice patterns in their behaviours. They all act the same. From your usually more solitary betta fish to your schooling tetras, each fish species is unique and this isn’t always reflected in Aquarium Designer. Don’t get me wrong, it’s realistic enough to keep the immersion, (aside from the odd time one of your fish will clip through a rock) but differentiating behaviours would be an excellent addition to an already fun simulator.

With more content already confirmed by the developers, it’s only a matter of time before brand new features, fish and interactions are added.

Aquarium Designer definitely has the scope for a bright future, but as it stands, it is an enjoyable designer sandbox that you should definitely give a chance, whether you are a novice or a pro with aquascaping and fish-keeping.

Review: Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania

Natosha M

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Nov 10, 2021

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Time to go bananas with this fun and adorable game, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania! It’s an entirely entertaining game, no matter the game one may choose from at the very start. There are six monkeys to choose from at the very beginning. Each is designed so cutely and adds to the fun of this game! I can honestly say no matter the time of day as there will always be time for some bright, cheerful monkeys and a bunch of banana collecting fun!

When one starts the game, there will be a variety of options. Each allows you to play the game a little bit differently or add on some wonderfully new styles to your monkey team. The first option would be to start the game alone, as a single-player game. You would be playing the main game, where you go through many different challenges on your very own and play the story straight through. On the other hand, if you have some others who want to play, there is always the party game option. This is where you can enjoy playing with four extra players and see who comes out on top. I always felt that a game alone is fun, but with others, it’s even better!

Oh yes, it doesn’t just stop there! Maybe by chance, you aren’t with friends or family and still want to be challenged by others, well there is the option to play against others from all over the world. Another feature I’ve always loved in games because there is someone out there that will push you a bit harder to be the best! This game never keeps you from challenging yourself or many others, that is for sure.

In addition to the ability to play in any game mode, you would like. There is also what I find enjoyable within a game, the ability to customize your character. This is available once you earn points to purchase some new editions for each character or whom you want to dress up. Yet, this can be done with each amount of reward earned from the levels you were playing through. Keep every character designed and looking the way you want them to. It’s another great way to show off your personal preference while in games with others and just for your enjoyment. Plus, the purchases don’t just stop at what you can add to your monkeys, but also the ability to purchase other Sega game characters, such as Sonic and Tails.

Even with all the purchases, you can buy, the game just starts you off with six cute monkeys. These cartoon characters are named AiAi, MeeMee, GonGon, Baby, YanYan, and Doctor. These characters are already available to play, and you don’t need to worry about buying them. In addition to the option of character choice, there is one positive note worth mentioning. You need not worry about which character you should be, as they are possessing the same capabilities while playing the game. So no one character is stronger or powerful than the next. This makes for fair gameplay, no more fighting over who you want as it’s the skills you possess that make for who will come out as the winner in the end.

From my first experience, I couldn’t stop playing! Once I turned the game, started right into the story mode. I was hooked on the cute sounds which makes me think of Pokémon characters or even that of a game called Bust-a-Move. I kept thinking to myself, will Pikachu be appearing on-screen too? Nevertheless, I still adored the cute sounds and music in the background, very upbeat and competitive but not overly annoying to cause a loss of concentration.

The game’s main objective is to get to the goal, but of course, the less time used the better. Yet, there is also that thing about bananas, like in this game’s title, Banana Mania. This is where you can rack up some more points by collecting these bananas through each stage.

The first world’s stage was quite simple as in many games, always are. However, it does start to get a bit trickier and difficult to accomplish. You best believe that each level will have you focusing and working to move around the obstacles and collect everything without fail. It can be a simple as aiming towards the goal and ending the stage or going above and beyond to collect every banana as possible. Don’t worry, it isn’t set in stone how you play or how fast you are! Having fun is all you need to achieve from this game.

Talking about the levels, well there are so many to roll around. Many can be tricky while others not so much. It varies and even mentions on top if it’s simple or difficult. Plus, with a view of the world-mapped design when choosing the next stage, you can get an idea of what to expect. Also, for some simple stages, many of those bananas are located in tricky places. Making them be a bit complicated to grab. You might find yourself heading to the goal and skipping them entirely or if you are spontaneous and want to take on this challenge, no matter how many times you play the stage. I must applaud you for doing so!

One thing I did want to point out since I spoke much about the stages and their difficulty is how these appear. Each of the stages you enter is floating in the air. Yes, up in the air, attached to nothing. So at any chance, you rotate too quickly or go too fast, which might mean a big FALL OUT, or in other words GAME OVER! However, to win the game you need to rotate and move perfectly inside the level. Pay attention to the curves coming up, the pace you are moving at, and pay attention to what is going on with the unique stage obstacles you may face.

There was an issue I did have with the game. No, it’s nothing too horrible, and of course, it’s my own opinion. However, watching the replays, either winning at the goal or falling out of the stage is still quite entertaining, but sometimes it can be a bit redundant after a while. Especially if you are doing it every time you start the game. I felt that even for a short stage or just a mistake made in the same area, the action replay can be a bit much.

At least there is a solution! Just with one push of the button, you can quickly bypass the replay. I just wish that in the settings, there was an option to turn this action replay off. It would even be nice to just turn it off completely or set it up that one may keep the winning goals replayed, but not the epic fails. Again, this is just my opinion, but it doesn’t reflect everyone’s feelings. So don’t let that scare you, it still is quite a fun and lively game.

Lastly, I want to mention that this is a great game to keep one’s mind occupied as there are many levels to roll through, many challenging stages, and much fun for everyone to monkey ball-around in! Friends, family members, and everyone all over the world can enjoy this game together. It’s nothing less than brilliant!

Review: Ghosts and Apples

Derren Bennett

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Nov 10, 2021

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Ghosts And Apples is a frantic action-puzzler with mighty ghosts, combining action, strategy, reasoning, and memory. You must accumulate golden apples and gems to buy the keys of every room within the mysterious house to escape. To achieve your goal, you must catch devious ghosts and swoosh them at stacks of other ghosts to clear the screen!
Worthplaying.com

Gameplay

On its face the gameplay in Ghosts and Apples looks unique but if you were to strip it back to its core it would just be another colour match game with core elements similar to the likes of candy crush and many many others. Games like this are very popular on the mobile scene due to its ‘pick up and play’ style and addictive gameplay. Ghosts and Apples takes this winning formula, tweaks it a little bit and puts a nice hand drawn art style over the top.

Players must use strategy and memory in this hectic puzzle game to accumulate apples and gems which can be used to buy keys. The player must then use these keys to unlock rooms in a mysterious house in an attempt to escape.

The player is tasked with catching ghosts and placing them at either side of the screen in stacks. Matching these ghosts by colour will reward the player with more points and the end goal is to clear the screen and catch a certain amount of ghosts to proceed.

There are over 150 different levels to play, all with similar goals. After playing around 10 levels I noticed that the speed in which the ghosts appear becomes much quicker, causing the player to make quicker decisions and this truly becomes a test of strategy and memory. I did notice that beyond this speed increase the gameplay itself didn’t deviate too much in the time that I played and some players may even find the gameplay slightly repetitive.

Visuals

Just like many other indie games on the market, Ghosts and Apples has a very unique and imaginative art style. As soon as you boot up the game you can tell that a lot of heart went in to hand drawing most of the elements and personally I think this is very inviting and fun and makes a nice change from the usual drawn out realistic generated scenery that is present in most games.

Although a lot of the game has been designed with ‘dark and gloomy’ in mind there are instances were there are some great colour pops, especially in regards to the ghosts.

One thing I will say is that the main playable character does sometimes give me the creeps!

Replay Value

Ghosts and Apples has 150 unique levels to play all with increasing speeds and difficulty. The gameplay within the first portion of levels doesn’t differentiate much though, meaning eventual repetitiveness.

In terms of replay value, players can technically play the same levels again and in some instances achieve a higher score but otherwise I personally do not see much need to replay the game after all 150 levels have been completed.

Verdict

Ghosts and Apples has many of the same core elements as many popular and addictive mobile games. This formula has been used for many years and luckily Ghosts and Apples has managed to put enough of a spin on that formula to still stand out amongst the crowd. Addictive gameplay and great visuals make for a great experience however some players may not like the repetitive nature of these types of games. This game is still a must play for anyone that wants something addictive to pick up and play.

Update: After speaking with a member of the team who worked on the game they have pointed out that there are further gameplay elements and another character later on in the game

(All subjects touched upon in this review are based on my experiences in the small portion of the game that I was able to play in my review time)

Review: Creepy Tale

Michael Hoade

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Nov 10, 2021

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Creepy Tale, a ‘point and click’ puzzle game, with elements of horror and platforming, certainly remains faithful to its name.

A simple premise: you and your brother walking in the woods, turns quickly into a tale of dread and discomfort – where something just isn’t quite right – at all times.

Within moments of playing the game – and after a bit of peaceful mushroom picking – your brother is lured away by a seemingly innocent butterfly and quickly snatched by some hairy bright-eyed monsters.

Left all alone, the onus is on the brother to explore the creepy woods and try and save his brother.

Whilst not outright terrifying like the likes of the Outlast games (shudders), Creepy Tale never fails to make the player feel on edge.

An appropriate atmosphere:

The world and general atmosphere of Creepy Tale is excellent. The 2D art direction is visually striking, with a sort of ‘soft’ look that juxtaposes greatly with the ominous ambience that follows you wherever you go.

The gloomy colour palette and absence of sound evoke a sense of hopelessness and dread. This is especially effective when you’re attacked and even the slightest noise – such as the sudden grunt of an underground monster – feels that much more impactful.

Because everything in this forest is out to get you, even with the softer monster designs and lack of jump scares, the game’s atmosphere still shines.

Whilst I didn’t find the game particularly frightening, the game’s ending absolutely raised the bar and felt genuinely horrifying.

A puzzling experience:

Your character, unsurprisingly, cannot fight back against the monsters in the forest. As such, you will have to carefully hide and avoid monsters and traps to survive.

To successfully make your way through each level you will have to deal with a number of puzzles. There are also different items that you can interact with in the forest, such as the aforementioned mushrooms or objects such as buckets and keys. Each item has certain uses and it is left completely up to you, the player, to figure out what to do.

This is where the game started to frustrate me. The complete absence of sign-posting or clues means that puzzles are often more of an exercise in tedium and frustration, than actual challenge (some would argue that is part of the challenge, I would kindly disagree). I somewhat understand the ethos behind this stripped-down approach, and the foreboding threat of monsters does add a sense of urgency to puzzle solving.

Thankfully there is the option to turn on hints, which I found considerably improved the experience for me, but the need for this reflects the lacklustre game design.

The puzzles themselves are also rarely interesting, save for a few exceptions, which do involve you needing full awareness of your surroundings. Most of the time, it feels like time is wasted and because the majority of the gameplay loop is centred around puzzle solving, the experience really starts to drag.

The game is also very short (once you figure out what you’re supposed to do).

On a more positive note, the game’s generous save system and almost instant respawns felt encouraging and allowed me to see the fascinating ending.

A game of two halves:

For all the praise that I am happy to give to the game’s excellent atmosphere and visual design, the frustrating gameplay fails to hold up. At a discount I’d say the game is worth playing for the visuals alone, provided you have a considerable amount of patience and composure.

Also the ending, provided the gameplay is improved upon, could lead to a really interesting sequel.

Review: Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Happy Home Paradise

Kara Phillips

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Nov 10, 2021

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Review: Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Happy Home Paradise

The release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons in 2020 took the world by storm, and rapidly became everyone’s obsession for the majority of the year. People all around the world came together for a turnip selling, fruit exchanging frenzy. But myself, amongst the thousands, hit burnout very quickly. The game lost it’s flair and appeal, leaving me feeling quite lost. My island fell silent, with villagers questioning where their resident representative had gone.

Amongst this silence, Nintendo finally listened to players’ desperate pleas for something new. Something fresh and exciting. Scheduling a direct, excitement began to bubble in the fanbase. A certain coffee brewing pigeon sparked a little something, but the direct and release of New Horizon’s first (and only) paid DLC ignited the love for this game again. Suddenly every time I sign in to any social media, my timeline and feeds are blessed with a continuous stream of excited Animal Crossing fans. Once again, the community of ACNH is buzzing and alive.

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Paradise is a paid DLC, so a copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons is required to play.

Lottie hosts team parties to celebrate decorating milestones, and they are just far too adorable.

Meet me in paradise

Happy Home Paradise is a refreshing take on Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, tying in neatly with New Horizons. Players extend their resident representative skills to a distant island, where you meet a cast of new NPC’s to complete the task of creating another island paradise for others to enjoy. Rather than being a standalone game and not having any storyline like Happy Home Designer, HHP is an extension to the original game and there are a lot of links and cross references in the story. Additionally, I loved that you can invite your islanders from New Horizons to visit your work, and potentially build a holiday home for them.

Essentially, if you look at the bones of the DLC it is pretty much an interior designing simulator. But in doing so, you unlock new elements which can be applied to your original island. I was absolutely outraged by how beautiful players got their islands when New Horizons was initially released. Design has never really been my strong point in any game. As much as I love it, nothing ever looks quite right. So as you can imagine, I have spent hours on certain houses in this DLC to make sure they look absolutely perfect. There’s something incredibly gratifying when your hard work is praised by your client, and you snap a perfect photo for your portfolio. It honestly feels like you are genuinely working, but without the frustrating tiredness that follows a 9-5.

Meet new friends and let them help you discover brand new features to implement in design.

Deja Vu?

My one fault with this DLC is that the majority of prompts from visitors are pretty similar. When you first pick it up, it’s all very exciting and new. Each prompt unlocks new items, but after a couple hours you’ll realise you’ve made about fourteen tearooms and one too many campsites. After a certain amount of happy clients, you unlock the ability to create your own prompts for islanders. This is great for when you run out of drive for another convenient store, but also feels slightly like cheating. Maybe I’m just overly attached. I’ve spent the majority of my upbringing alongside these characters. But I didn’t want to jeopardise any of the ideas they have.

A sunshine state of mind

A breath of fresh air comes in the fact you don’t have to solely decorate homes either. The island is covered from shore to shore with abandoned facilities. Which you unlock as you go on. I absolutely loved decorating these, and adored the fact island visitors actually utilise them. There is nothing more wholesome than spending ages making a cafe, and then walking in the next day to see it filled with tourists stopping for a coffee.

Especially with the new food update in 2.0, a whole new world of flavour can be experienced by all. The island as a whole is explored by all inhabitants as well. If you stop for a chat they might give you a gift from their own abode. You really see the island grow as you work hard. Which is fulfilling after spending so long on one island where everyone has the same routine daily. As I mentioned previously, it genuinely does feel like a job. Which pays off when you see genuine enjoyment from your clients.

Put all your designing skills to the test to create a beautiful abode for everyone.

Final thoughts

Happy Home Paradise alongside the 2.0 update is definitely the burst of energy the Animal Crossing fan base needed. I feel as though this has reignited a burnt out community of wholesome gaming. Whilst providing a constant source of things to do in case you do find yourself getting bored. There’s no limit to how much decorating you can do in a day. And there’s always a beach full of clients ready to find their paradise. All you need to do is jump right in.

Review: Vault of the Void

Gaming

Brendan Freeman

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Nov 10, 2021

0

A card battling game with a difference. Vault of the Void is a rogue-like card game that is available on Steam. Spider Nest Games developed and published the title

Vault of the Void Plot

The premise is very simple. You make your way through the levels beating various beings collecting the cards.

Vault of the Void Gameplay

The card game is simple to follow and makes the game easy to play. The player has to navigate their way through a series of rooms that can contain various things. It can be enemies, shops, or treasures. When you die you are sent right back to stage 1. But with all the cards the player has unlocked.

The card game is easy to follow. The player draws five cards at the beginning of their turn. The player has three energy points that can be used to activate card abilities. These can be offensive or defensive spells. After the enemy’s first turn, the player is warned of their attack power. On the player’s next turn they must use the defense cards to prevent damage. Most of the time this is an easy decision to make, it’s worth defending to survive the rooms.

Once the player gets to the latter stages of the dungeon. The decision to use defense cards instead of attack cards becomes a difficult decision. I found myself having to take damage to beat the enemies. It makes the game a lot more interesting and far more difficult.

Vault of the Void Presentation

The game is beautiful to look at. The cards are well designed and beautiful. There are various battlefields available that serve as backgrounds of the game. But these are unlockable either by using vault points or completing achievements. The special effects are also pretty.

The music fits the theme of the game. Not that you need to listen to it. I’ve had it on mute for around 50% of the time and I never felt like I was missing out on anything. The sound effects are also what you would expect from a battle card game.

Final Verdict

From my time playing Vault of the Void, I did have fun. But I didn’t enjoy the rogue-like aspect of the game. Unlike most roguelike games, it takes a lot of skill to get to the end of the dungeon. But you don’t seem to get rewarded as much as you do in other rogue-like games like Everspace or Rogue Legacy.

For a card game, it is pretty simple which suits a roguelike title. But the battles last far too long and for most of the early card battles, you don’t need to think much. Then all of a sudden the difficulty level rises and you’re then defeated quickly. It would have felt fairer if you could restart a battle at least once without going all the way back through the levels.

I would recommend playing Vault of the Void if you want a simple card game. And can stomach the frustration of being sent all the way back to the beginning. I would even pay for a feature to give me one more try.